Ecuador’s vice president ended the upheaval of a short-lived coup when he assumed the presidency yesterday – but New York Ecuadoreans said they doubted the power shift would accomplish much in their poverty-stricken homeland.

“A lot of people are hungry there. Little babies are begging in the streets. All the presidents before took the money and ran away,” said Sonia Herrera, 23, a customer at the Garden, an Ecuadorean restaurant in Queens.

“I feel bad – but it’s been the same for the last 50 years,” said Cesar Lanas. “There aren’t going to be any changes. Today it’s one guy, tomorrow it’s another guy.”

Vice President Gustavo Noboa became Ecuador’s sixth president in four years after the country’s military chief – under U.S. pressure – dissolved a three-man junta that grabbed power just hours before.

The moves ended a whirlwind coup that began Friday when Indian protesters and military officers stormed government buildings demanding President Jamil Mahuad’s ouster.

Mahuad made a surprise TV appearance in which he accepted the new government.

Military chief Gen. Carlos Mendoza resigned from his post, saying the junta had seized power to “prevent a bloodbath.”